Since 2006, the Mexican government has been in embroiled in a bloody drug war, which has failed to significantly curb trafficking. This Backgrounder looks at Mexico's eradication efforts, along with U.S. policy options for one of its most important regional allies.

Gil Kerlikowske, director of the National Drug Control Policy, discusses global drug policy, including a new emphasis on programs that recognize drug addiction as a disease of the brain instead of a moral failure, domestic and international trends in drug consumption, and the diversification of transnational criminal organizations.

The New Yorker details the fight for Guadalajara, Mexico.

Shannon K. O'Neil examines pledges by Mexico's presidential candidates to shift drug war priorities from arresting traffickers to reducing horrific violence.

This New York Times Magazine piece investigates how the world's most powerful drug traffickers run their billion-dollar business.

Mexico is winning its death match against the drug cartels and rebuilding once-corrupt institutions in the process. But an election is approaching, and the candidates are calling for a truce. Mexico can take its place in the sun, but only if it wipes out the cartels for good.

The author assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects.

Jorge G. Castañeda, former foreign minister of Mexico and a professor of politics and Latin American studies, says Cuba and drugs will be the main topics of discussion at the upcoming Summit of the Americas.

Benn Steil's Forbes op-ed takes a critical look at the economics behind the Obama Administration's free-contraception insurance mandate.

Neither intensifying the drug war nor legalizing all drugs offers much hope of reducing drug abuse in the United States or lessening violence in Mexico.

The global drug industry has fought to prevent developing nations from making low-cost, generic versions of drugs under patent, but the demand for such alternatives is could rise with increasing healthcare costs and growing incidence of chronic disease.

Shannon K. O'Neil says domestic responsibility and action are needed to win Mexico's drug war.

The Organization of American States adopted its Hemispheric Action Plan on Drugs for 2011-2015 at the OAS session in El Salvador on June 8, 2011.

The University of San Diego's David A. Shirk discusses the findings of his recent Council Special Report The Drug War in Mexico: Confronting a Shared Threat.

Joel D. Hirst says the Obama administration must move with urgency to secure the extradition of Walid Makled García "el Turco" from Colombia to the United States.

David A. Shirk analyzes the drug war in Mexico and argues that the United States should help Mexico address its pressing crime and corruption problems.

The March 2-3 visit of Mexico's president to Washington offers a chance at easing tensions over the cross-border drug trade, and far more than security issues are at stake, says CFR's Shannon O'Neil.

Joel D. Hirst says the decision by Colombia to send drug kingpin Walid Makled to Venezuala and not the United States is a mistake, but one that can be corrected.

In this transcript of the second session of the symposium on U.S.-Mexico relations, experts discuss the difficulty of "chasing ghosts" perpetrating the drug-related violence in Mexico, the spillover into border regions of the United States and governmental initiatives to address the conflict.

Joel D. Hirst discusses recent arrest of Venezuelan drug lord Walid Makled, and the implications of his extradition from Columbia to the United States.